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4"x6" oil on raymar panel. •
That was not the first title for this little piece, but after looking at the suspicious posture of the army dude, it seemed a good one. He just doesn't trust that marble, the tension is palpable. Of course, he doesn't stand a chance with that little plastic bayonet. • I obviously need a break.
Posted May 23, 2013
click here to view the auction for this painting
8"x8" oil on canvas. •
Most of the portraits you see me paint are from live models. That was a problem with this guy, because, you see... he's dead. As a matter of fact, another dead guy prompted me to paint this dead guy—both authors of various, little-known works. A little while ago you received an email from me with a painting I did of the late Mr. Charles Dickens. That painting was so fun, that I proceeded to look around for another black and white shot of somebody to paint. It was going to be an older Monet, with that huge white beard of his, but I first went for the guy with the huge forehead, my friend Poe. Just look at that wonderful cranium, it's planetary! Combine that with everything else on his face being crooked or out of whack in some way, and you have a fantastic model for a painting. All human heads are out of whack in some way or another and you should be suspicious of any that appear not to be (e.g., pix in ads of "perfect" people—perfect people should scare you). I am not promising to paint more of these posthumous portraits, but don't be surprised if they pop up in your email box in the future.
Report on the Beverly Hills Art Show
This past weekend I was in the Beverly Hills Art Show. Many friends and collectors came to visit, and one friend even brought lunch on Saturday (Thanks Viv!). I am continuing to introduce larger work at the show, and it was all very well received. As a matter of fact, I took Second Place in the Painting category of the show. Painting is by far the largest category, so I consider it an honor to be recognized at all. But I have much bigger news: The odds of me getting tasered have gone down dramatically due to the fact that a couple of the Beverly Hills Rangers have begun collecting my work. Don't get me wrong, there is still a chance of me getting zapped, but that chance has narrowed considerably. • Yet again, The Spousal Unit was able to be with me during the entire show and though my ego takes a hit because people come over just to talk to her (especially male artists), her being there was a big plus for me. • All in all, a great show.
Posted May 21, 2013
sold • private collection marina del rey, ca
I totally forgot about posting my ads for this show on this blog. Sorry.
6"x4" oil on raymar panel. • There is only one thing I like about this outwardly annoying little marketing ploy (Did I say "ploy?" I meant "toy."): It makes a giggle sound when you shake it up and down. I like giggle sounds. Don't know why, I just do. One of The Spawn still likes it, so its inevitable expulsion has been... postponed. This guy has "Shoot me with a pellet gun!" written all over him.
Posted May 10, 2013
sold • private collection pasadena, ca
(http://beverlyhills.org/exploring/beverlyhillsartshow)
I will be showing my wares in space #138. • Saturday and Sunday, May 18th & 19th • 10am to 6pm both days
To answer the two most commonly asked questions: Yes, this event happens twice a year and an artist does have to be judged in. Which leads to an obvious third question: "If that is so, Raymond. How the heck did you get in?" It would be inappropriate for me to type my answer to that last one here. I try to keep these posts at a "G" rating.
6"x4" oil on raymar panel. • So, there I was, sitting in the left hand turn lane, waiting for the light to turn green, when a nice car ($90K plus) pulled up behind me. No big deal, right? When I looked in my rearview mirror I noticed there was no driver; the headrest appeared to be driving the car. The light turned green and I proceeded to drive and the spooky driverless car from hell followed me. Now, wouldn't that situation freak you out just a bit? Well, it freaked me out to the point that I had to drop back and get a better look, fully expecting to see the Headless Horseman driving with his flaming pumpkin head safely strapped into the passenger seat. When I got a better look, there was not a headless specter of doom driving, but a woman whose top of her head was below the dashboard. Must have been one of those self-driving cars. • I know, I know, I should be using this commentary to talk about the complexities of the art world and how it is so subjective and how success is not based on merit but rather on your willingness to pickle a large shark in a glass tank, but I thought the driverless car thing far more important.
Posted May 7, 2013
6"x4" oil on raymar panel. • The frequency with which I paint flowers can be summed up by the old behest, "Smoke if you got 'em!" I paint flowers when I got 'em (a.k.a. When The Spousal Unit cuts them and places them in front of me with the unspoken command, that a man who wishes to remain married and in cookies, pays heed to). Our backyard is currently an explosion of these red poppies and thus, The Royal Command was given. • Painting these beauties is the floral equivalent of trying to paint melting ice cubes. You have to go after them with an aggressive brush, committing to your original knock-in by not following them as they immediately start drooping to kiss the table. I feel guilty torturing these poor flowers. Okay, I'm over it. They were sacrificed to the painting gods and there are still a gazillion in the garden causing mass drunkenness and lewd behavior in our local bee population.
Posted April 26, 2013
sold • private collection bradbury, ca
4"x6" oil on raymar panel. • I have a 'molasses' joke, but it would be inappropriate in this particular venue.
Posted April 24, 2013
4"x6" oil on raymar panel. • I was ready to unleash a wave of whining on you about photographing red and how painful it is to color correct, blah, blah, blah, when into the studio comes The Ever-Glorious and Radiant Spousal Unit with fresh baked peanut butter cookies. Who cares about color correction and the existence of an evil camera in your studio when you've got warm cookies at 9:30 am? This is what it means to be an adult. Not mortgages, annoying offspring, snarled traffic, cats pooping in your yard, etc. No. Being an adult means having hot cookies at any time of day (and bragging about it to your kids when you deny the same to them). So... Things are good... Here's a painting for you... Have a great day!
Posted April 19, 2013
4"x6" oil on raymar panel. • The only things missing from this 'modern' toy truck are safety bumpers to protect little munchkins from hurting themselves. Never mind that these toys are so dangerous for adults that when I asked The Spousal Unit what I should call this painting, all she could came up with were variations on the theme: "The Cute Little SOB I Trip On in the Middle of the Night, Almost Breaking My Neck." It was amazing to see how many different versions of that lovely sentiment she could come up with. • (Grumpy Old Man Alert) Let's get back to how overly safe these toy trucks are nowadays. In my day, we had Tonka trucks made out of thin, rusty metal with sharp edges, all covered in glorious bright yellow lead paint. We cut ourselves, Dad threatened to slap hot iron to the wound—scaring us to death—to eventually pour a whole bottle of iodine on the wound, then we got tetanus, and we liked it that way. (Oh yeah, I had a great childhood.) • Buried somewhere deep in the wilds of our backyard, lives one of those old metal trucks. If I ever find it, I am going to paint a portrait of it, cut myself and proceed to cry all the way over to the clinic to get my tetanus shot. I hope they still give out suckers when they give shots.
Posted April 16, 2013
sold • private collection monrovia, ca
6"x4" oil on raymar panel. • I was in between paintings and experimenting with set ups containing three to four bottles and, being an in between kinda guy, I squeezed this little painting out. Don't worry, it wasn't painful (much). • What is far more important is that The Spousal Unit saw fit to make homemade brownies using something like 20 lbs. of my Trader Joe's dark chocolate (yes, it is all mine). I am, at the moment, happy. Again, don't worry, being happy isn't painful (much) and I am sure it will be of short duration.
Posted April 10, 2013
sold • private collection south pasadena, ca
6"x4" oil on raymar panel. • I cannot remember the last time I did one of these relatively straightforward still lifes. No, seriously, I cannot remember. It could have been last week or three years ago, as far as my memory banks are concerned. Considering my upbringing (which I don't remember either) and my subsequently becoming an artist (a choice I seemed to have been completely left out of), I have been exposed to a certain level of chemicals. So, I can hardly be ridiculed for, let's say, forgetting to pick up The Spawn after school. Wait... I have been ridiculed for doing that. Never mind. • Anyway... These little still life set ups are fun and challenging. Partially due to the fact that the royal subjects' colors are bouncing around annoying the other royal subjects. • Have a great weekend!
Posted April 5, 2013
sold • private collection pasadena, ca
6"x4" oil on raymar panel. • When I first came back to painting, I took an oath to avoid typography in my paintings. This swearing-off wasn't based in fear of rendering type—I LOVE typography, consider it a high art and think a lowercase Garamond "g" to be one of the most wonderfully gorgeous forms ever created—but rather it is based in my having rendered a heckuva lot of type in my past life. All the way from 6 pt. with a one bristle brush to 6 foot behemoths. That seemed to me to be enough typography for a lifetime. Also, my love of the form would possibly distract me from painting, or so goes the logic in my addled brain. But when painting let's say... a Tootsie Roll, it is hard to avoid type. So, I have somewhat loosened up on my type banishment and let it creep in here and there (e.g., the above). • Just as I would encourage any artist to study the human form, I would also encourage them to study typography. You will probably encounter it at some time in your work, and even if you don't, it is a wonderful art in and of itself and well worth the learning. There is a natural flow to it, just as with the human body. That's my rant for the day. Please deposit a nickel in your machine.
Posted April 3, 2013
sold • private collection west hollywood, ca
11"x14" oil on canvas. • Disclaimer: The final color correction performed on this image took place without the painting being present and after I had dental work done (I was so loaded that I couldn't feel the top half of my skull and, when talking to The Spawn, thinking I would get understandable responses), so I cannot guarantee its accuracy. • I love this camera. It is the epitome of its kind, beautifully designed and truly speaks of an era. When you say "Brownie camera," it is what most, many, a few, or at least two people envision. I am stating this because I will probably paint it again—this is the second time—and I didn't want anybody whining that they were not forewarned.
Posted March 27, 2013
11"x14" oil on canvas. • Last week, a painting tried to kill me. Or, at least, that is what it seemed like to me. The 46" x 46" malevolent beast and I fought back and forth until I finally vanquished it late Saturday. (Pictures will follow.) As a matter of fact, it is still trying to snuff me out by off-gassing me from behind as I type this. My own Spawn occasionally try this deadly method on me, but that is another story—one that a few dietary tweaks and banishment from the house might thwart. The wet painting, on the other hand, must, for now, reside in my studio. So, there is a big fan in my wide open studio door, valiantly exhausting the mind bending fumes. Considering that the birds outside the door are acting like they are stoned to the bejesus, the fan appears to be working. • The above piece is an extension of my experimenting with using clear(ish) bottles as a background, kind of like wallpaper. I do not know how the experiment is going, but the challenge is there. A challenge that pushes hard on the use of abstraction for the protection of my sanity (what little I have left). • After rereading the above commentary, I am starting to think the fan may not be working all that well.
Posted March 18, 2013
